Purpose Despite the possession of considerable natural, financial and human resources, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region suffers low economic growth rates, high unemployment rates, high poverty rates and high illiteracy rates. The purpose of this paper is to find out the factors that hinder the development of economic activities in this region. Design/methodology/approach This study uses co-integration analysis and vector error correction model on a sample of 18 MENA countries, covering the period 2002–2016. It exploits gross domestic product (GDP) as a dependent variable, and public debt, trade balance, natural resources rents, importation of high technology, labour participation rate, military spending, population size, political instability and corruption as independent variables. Findings The paper finds that public borrowing, trade deficit, military expenditures, the low level of technological innovation, population, political turbulences and corruption, all hinder GDP in the long-run. Additionally, public debt, military spending and political instability obstruct GDP in the short run. The results also suggest the existence of Dutch diseases in both the short- and the long-run. On the other hand, labour market conditions do not seem to have any effect on the economic performance of the MENA countries. Originality/value In addition of examining an understudied sample of countries, this paper – unlike other studies on the MENA region that look at factors that boost economic growth – exploits factors that have possible negative impact on the economic situation of the region.

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This paper investigates the impact of stock markets and banks on economic growth in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. The sample comprises a panel data from 13 MENA countries over the period 1988-2009. This paper uses recent GMM techniques developed for dynamic panels. The findings suggest that stock markets and banks positively influence economic growth in the MENA countries only during periods of stability. Our results are robust to several specifications and potential biases induced by simultaneity, omitted variables and unobserved country specific effects.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of terrorism in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the return and volatility of world price of oil. Design/methodology/approach GARCH models and daily data from 1987 till 2015 will be used. Findings The empirical results reveal that terrorism in the OPEC affects positively oil returns and negatively its volatility. Results also show that the different characteristics of the attacks are likely to have different impact on the return and volatility of oil prices. In overall terms, terrorism has a much larger positive impact on the return of oil prices and negative impact on its volatility if it targets the oil industry in the OPEC. This marginal effect is even greater if those attacks were successful. Originality/value The distinguishing feature of this paper is that the authors use a framework that takes into account different attributes for terrorism the success of the attacks, the intensity of the attacks and the associated targets.

Purpose Bank consolidations in many Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have been proceeding at a rapid pace, leading to a decline in the number of banks and an increase in market concentration. This may raise concerns regarding the impact of such increase in concentration on the behaviour of banks and consequently on the financial development. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of concentration on the financial development of MENA region. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts fully modified ordinary least squares model on a heterogeneous, non-stationary, cointegrated panel data set. The exploited panel is formed of 15 MENA countries and covers the period 1996–2014. Findings The empirical results show that concentration per se is not harmful for financial development. Nevertheless, concentration combined with bank market power may deteriorate the development of MENA financial systems. Originality/value In addition to considering an understudied region, the research presents very important findings, which suggest that if banks obtain market power, an increase in concentration following a wave of bank mergers, could weaken the financial development.